Science is advancing so fast some people may be able to live forever by the end of the next decade. Or so say some experts quoted in the Daily Star who described a new relevant theory in May.
Their longevity escape velocity theory proposes that life expectancy might soon increase at a faster rate than the actual aging process. For some people then, the years added because of increases in life expectancy would exceed the years lost to aging, and they would live forever.
One Ray Kurzweil appears to be a futurist who says he has made 147 predictions about the future, with a success rate of 86%. He claims to have successfully predicted a computer would beat world chess champions by 2000, and he also says he forecasted the appearance of portable computers and smartphones. Now he has predicted the rise of immortality by the 2030s with people presently in their 30s having the best shot at reaching that goal.
Researchers George Church and Aubrey de Grey have made similar predictions. Perhaps they have relied on scientists who have made major breakthroughs in rejuvenating cells, such as stem cell injections, cellular reprogramming, and killing “zombie” cells that cause tissue aging. Thus, these advances are leading to optimism about being able to avoid death in the future.
But not so fast! The HuffPost website says something completely different. “Human Life Expectancy Nearing Maximum Limit, Researchers Say,” reported HuffPost in October.
“Advances in medical technology and genetic research — not to mention larger numbers of people making it to age 100 — are not translating into marked jumps in lifespan overall, according to researchers who found shrinking longevity increases in countries with the longest-living populations.”
“We are reaching a plateau” in life expectancy, said Mark Hayward of the U. of Texas. While it’s always possible some breakthrough could push survival to greater heights, “we don’t have that now,” Hayward said.
S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago recently led a study relevant to this issue. His team tracked life expectancy estimates for the years 1990 to 2019 in eight places where people live the longest. He found the U. S. isn’t even in the top 40. He says there’s a limit to how long most people can live, and we have about hit that limit. If the ranks of centenarians increase in the future, it will be because of increases in population, not increases in life expectancy.
Comments: So, who’s right, Kurzweil or Olshansky? The Bible has the answer.
“The Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not struggle with man forever, because he is only flesh. His days will be 120 years.’” Genesis 6:3.
“The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty years if we are strong.” Psalm 90:10a.
“And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27.
The Bible nowhere says that we will achieve immortality in this world. We all have limited lifespans. We all will die. Except. If Jesus returns while we are still alive, we will truly and immediately achieve immortality in our heavenly homes, and the dead will be raised to immortality. Praise the Lord. And that is why we are celebrating Christmas. Through faith in Jesus, we will gain immortality in heaven.
“But once this perishable body has put on imperishability, and this mortal body has put on immortality, then what is written will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54.
By Warren Krug
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
How many hearts does an octopus have?
Octopuses have three hearts, which is partly a consequence of having blue blood. Their two peripheral hearts pump blood through the gills, where it picks up oxygen. A central heart then circulates the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body to provide energy for organs and muscles.
Source: New Scientist
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